In the separation-science art, support plate's are known which are used for distributing a fluid uniformly over a separation-science medium. Examples of such known support plates are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,100,551; 4,944,876; 4,902,420; and 3,209,915. U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,876, in particular, discloses a support plate that has a recessed channel network for uniformly distributing a fluid across a membrane filter. The recessed channel network includes concentrically arranged circular channels and a plurality of radially extending channels that intersect with the circular channels and communicate with an outlet passage. The outlet passage is centrally located in the recessed channel network, and in this position does not allow a fluid that is deposited centrally on the membrane filter to become distributed over the peripheral portions of the filter. This can be problematic when the fluid inlet is also centrally located and the filter needs to be fully wetted.